Posted by The WORD in other words (2022) by Fr Gerry Donato SVD – Divine Word Institute of Mission Studies, Tagaytay City
Thursday 33rd Week in Ordinary Time
Weeping is a human response to an emotional state. But more often, we use another word, “crying,” to express this same human emotion. When was the last time we really wept or cried? We grieve for many reasons.
Two years ago, the whole world suffered from a dreadful pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus. It brought profound grief in many parts of the world because of the sudden loss of loved ones.
However, we also cry for good reasons, “tears of joy” as they say, like the birth of a child of a married couple, childless for a long time, or the ordination of a son to the priesthood.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus wept when he saw the city of Jerusalem. Did he weep for a “good” or “bad” reason? Was it “tears of joy” or “tears of sadness”? Indeed, this was not the only time that Jesus wept. He wept at the death of Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, who were close friends of Jesus.
He wept when he saw the city of Jerusalem because he foresaw the destruction that will come to the city. Besides the above instance, he also wept because of his own people’s rejection and persecution, that led to his passion and death on the Cross.
On the other hand, several memorable events in Jesus’ life happened in the city, like, his presentation in the temple, the blessing of Simeon over him, when he got “lost” and later found teaching in the temple of Jerusalem, and his resurrection after three days.
In this way, we indeed can understand why the city is close and special to Jesus. It was a mixture of beautiful memories from the past and a strong feeling that something unpleasant will happen to him in the city. And so, he could not help but weep and feel sorrow in his heart.
What is our response? His tears are not for a city alone that is about to be destroyed, but they are for us too if we are not responding to his call of repentance and conversion.
Likewise, “tears” also flow from his eyes when we fail to love others, especially the poor, refuse to forgive others, and to practice compassion and mercy to those who are less forunate than us. The challenge of today’s Gospel is to live our Christian life faithfully to fill the heart of Jesus with “tears of joy,” not “tears of sadness and pain.”
